Friday, March 27, 2009

You people are the best...

First, the update. Pain from hip a little better today with some help from Tylenol. Labs indicate my blood is ALMOST back to normal. My red blood cells are very low, which helps explain my exhaustion (I'm anemic) and I'm not sure why they are taking so long to catch up but whites are now squarely in the normal range, platelets are normal, kidney function is normal, liver function likewise, and CRP is down to 12 (from a high of 260) with normal being under 10 so that's very close.

Today was a brutally early day with a 6:30AM PET Scan and the noon MRI. Lying on those boards hurt my hip quite a bit but it had to be done. I managed to have a full dinner courtesy of Jill's lovely cooking -- her chicken-stir-fry-over-rice even penetrated this nasty awful metallic film that seems to be applied, courtesy of my poor mangled taste buds (some of the cells that often give up the ghost to chemo), to all food. Dinner was nice.

Importantly, I did some online sleuthing and I would not at all be surprised to find that the Fat Man / Little Boy antibiotic they put me on -- Tigecycline -- is behind my intestinal distress since that's a very common side effect. I'm going to ask them to discontinue it -- I've had 7 of the 10 days worth of it.

Now...I want to thank all of you for reading, and for your comments and for your emails. You honestly don't understand how something as simple as a comment on this blog restores my strength and sense of purpose. I'm touched by all of you so very much, and Jill and I thank you.

5 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry you're having a rough time. I can sympathize with just about all you're going through. I also went through a phase where nothing tasted good. I could only manage a couple bites of jello (which I normally don't like at all) or fresh fruit. I also alternated anti-nausea meds, which made me quite sleepy, with accupressure wrist bands. They provided a lot of relief, but only for a few hours.

    I'll continue to keep you & Jill in my thoughts and prayers and send you "healing vibes." Best wishes.

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  2. I'm so happy to hear that Jill is still going strong with the edible chicken! Yum. Can you stomach edible jambalaya yet?

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  3. Hey Nick,
    You are one step closer to being done with this. Keep your mind and heart strong and know how much we all care and are here to support you.

    Much love,
    Julie & Mike

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  4. So happy to read that things seem to be progressing in the right direction!

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  5. NvD - if that's the case, have to say that i appreciate the brave, honest truth you unfurl here and love the rock'n'roll references that make their way into the posts. keep on keeping on the invisible airways crackling with life - AP

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